A NSW farmer has triumphed over environmental challenges, transforming his sheep farming area into a paradise for his animals.
Will Johnson’s farm in Cargo, 35 kilometers west of Orange, was transformed after he planted 15,000 trees and plants to improve the environment.
After a previous owner cut the trees on the 600-acre property, it was essentially treeless 20 years ago, so Mr Johnson began planting lines of’shelterbelts.’
Mr Johnson’s shelterbelts are made up of a mix of indigenous flora and gum trees that are lined together to create a windbreak.
He said, “It’s a lot of work, but the results are fantastic.”
They break up and slow down wind speeds, as well as protecting farm animals from the cold and crops from drying out.
For the past two decades, scientists from the Australian National University Sustainable Farms project have been studying the effects of shelterbelts in Australia’s central west.
It has been collaborating closely with farmers who are making improvements to their land, such as planting shelterbelts, and it has been tracking the effects on animals.
Eleanor Lang, an ecologist at the Australian National University, told the Daily Mail Australia that the shielding has a huge influence against elements like wind, which can kill livestock.
‘There is nothing to interrupt that wind if there are no trees or shelterbelts there,’ Ms Lang explained. ‘It’s also a thing with fire; if there’s nothing to slow down wind, fire will move more swiftly across a terrain,’ Ms Lang explained.
The wind barrier’s shade and shelter have been proved to assist lambs survive and sheep stay warm or cold during the seasons.
It also enhances cattle weight gain and increases wool output.
The shelterbelts attract a variety of bird species that can breed in the shrubbery, and the coolness of the shelters can sometimes encourage the growth of greener grass in the region.
‘Seeing how many birds have been able to return to a landscape is always impressive to me… a lot of smaller bird species that frequently suffer on heavily grazed fields, they really require that shrubbery,’ Ms Lang said.
The wind shelters cover an area 10 times the height of the shelterbelt trees on land.
‘Wind reduction effects can extend up to 100 meters on the other side of a 10-meter-high tree belt,’ Ms Lang added.